The Start of Everything
by superstarsvtn
Summary: Ginny's untold story:what happened to her when she left the Room of Requirement. All she wants is to find her family,but trouble finds her first - and the last person she expected to saved her. So maybe she can trust him after all. Two-shot; Ginny/Draco
1. How To Trust

**a/n: Things I've changed: For this fic, in the 6th book, Draco was involved in the battle - fighting - but did _not_ come up with the idea for the Death Eater invasion. Snape still killed Dumbledore, and Draco escaped with Snape. He then had a change of heart, and freed and escaped with a member of the Order of the Phoenix. His loyalty is still a controversial issue among the Order, and personally, Ginny doesn't trust him because of the way he treated her throughout her 6th year. Oh, and although Ginny is _not_ a Seeress, she does have a slight physic ablility allowing her to 'See' occassionally into the future, and very rarely is it an actual scene or more than just a flash. **

**Features Slightly Resentful!Ginny and Protective!Draco. You'll see. Go on, read.**

Ginny dashed along the corridor after Harry told her to leave, and moved steadily towards the sound of fighting. As the sound got closer, she Saw a flash of Draco coming around the corner and hastily dodged behind a statue.

And then there he was, his hair tied back in a ponytail, a fierce expression on his face as he dueled. With superior skill, he disarmed and put the villain to sleep by a simple wave of his wand. Although he had just demonstrated he was on their side, Ginny stayed hidden behind the statue. After all, he hated her with a passion – she assumed it was because of the Golden Trio, because she never remembered doing anything to him before he had started in on her. She remembered viciously all the times he'd trapped her and made fun of her simply for being family to Ron.

_She_ couldn't help it, Ginny thought resentfully. She'd thought herself close to them, and had thought Harry loved her, but he'd gone off and left her in the end. He'd claimed it was because he wanted to protect her family, but he'd taken Ron, hadn't he? And hadn't bothered to tell her he was taking Ron until they were all gone, after the wedding. It was only then that her father drew her aside and told her about the ghoul imitating Ron with splattergroit. She'd been furious at the world that day – in fact, that memory had fueled her courage throughout the year, courage she desperately needed to keep the DA going and their tricks and stunts alive.

She tore herself out of the memories, but she was left with the resentful feeling. After all, they'd kicked her out of the Room of Requirement without even a please or an explanation – or an invitation. But she paid close attention in the next moment.

Three Death Eaters strode down the hall, and Ginny took careful aim once they had passed her. With a nonverbal spell – one of her specialties in teaching in the DA – she Stunned, then cloaked him with a spell so his friends would just think he slipped off.

They didn't think so. One whirled around and started shooting spells everywhere – down the hallway, at the ceiling, even at the lamp shining on the wall. The other one Ginny carefully noted as more dangerous as he scoured the hallway for visible intruders. But she had already carefully cloaked herself in the same spell she had cast upon the Death Eater.

However, he was one step ahead of her. He cast a spell, and for a moment nothing happened. She had seen him mutter the words and wave his wand, but it took a few minutes for the spell to properly work. By that time, she'd aimed and shot, and he was down for the count when her outline began flickering, and then her Cloaking spell was shattered and if she was out in the open, she would have been caught immediately. Behind the statue, she hid and knew her time was probably limited – it wouldn't take the other one very long to discover where she was hiding, and he knew what spell his companion had cast.

The statue was whole one moment, the next, smashed, and shards of stone rained down over her. She could feel blood seeping over her arms, which were protectively covering her head. Without another thought, she turned and sprinted for the corner of the hallway, thinking that if she could just get out of sight, she would be safe. She skidded around the turn, and stopped dead in her tracks.

There was no going back. There were more Death Eaters in front of her, and she understood in a burst it was either them or her this time around, no hiding and skulking around them, this time, all the mock fighting in the DA became real to her. She grimly pointed her wand and cursed one of them before either of them had raised a wand to her – obviously, they were not expecting anyone to be along this corridor so far away from the fighting, and especially not a younger girl at that. She knew they suspected her of transforming herself, and was almost determined to prove them wrong, that she did know powerful magic indeed.

Then one fired a yellow shot at her, and she knew it was a torturing curse before they killed her, it was Crucio. Her thoughts flew by her, around her brain – she'd been one of the best at ducking and weaving, been one of the best at avoiding curses and moving fast on her feet in the DA, but she couldn't seem to move now. It was like one of those horrific nightmares where you're trying to run but you just can't seem to go anywhere. She was terrified, but unwavering still, she wanted to run, but couldn't leave, couldn't run from what she now, in the span of seconds, considered her fate –

Then someone jostled her, pushing her just a bit to the side and into the wall. The breath was shoved out of her as the unknown took the brunt of the spell – only he wasn't. Her gaze was drawn by the brightly beaming ring on his left index finger. She gasped. He had a protection ring. For one shining moment, she thought maybe Harry had acquired one on his travels and had saved her, shoved her aside in a bold, courageous move. Then the protection ring was covered, a long sleeve shaken over it. Her dreams were abruptly dashed when she turned and fully faced her rescuer. Draco Malfoy, looking more brutal than she had ever seen him, took a fighting stance and faced off the intruders.

She stood directly behind him, not daring to back off, and shot over his shoulder, missing more often than hitting because of her shaky hands. She occasionally gaped at him as he calmly avoided curses and returned fire, hitting nearly every single time. However, none of them even attempted to hit her; they all concentrated on taking the Malfoy boy down. After all, he had chosen the wrong team to them. They were back to back, fighting for their lives, and more than one green jet just narrowly missed one of them. Later, she wouldn't remember how they, just two teenagers, had taken down 4 experienced Death Eaters with permission to kill, but the battle was fierce and over before she knew it. She only barely felt a twinge on her left shoulder as the last Death Eater toppled to the ground.

Ginny swayed a little on the spot, and stumbled forward. Draco caught her shoulder and gently – usual for him – tugged her back towards him.

"I don't know what they hit me with," She said, just audibly enough for Draco to hear. "I feel tired and woozy." She accurately described her symptoms to him.

She leaned against the wall and began sliding down. Although he wasn't showing it, Draco was fast becoming panicked. What Death Eater would hit her with a non-life threatening spell? Understanding hit him hard, just as she sighed tiredly and swooned to the floor. Draco dropped beside her and pulled her to a sitting position, frantically trying to remember the counter spell. She wasn't sure why she wasn't recovering from the fall, but her head felt heavy. She set it against his shoulder.

"No – Ginny – come _on_." The last word sounded almost pleading to Ginny. She heard Draco's quick muttering, and then her head cleared. He was instantly relieved – until he remembered she was supposed to be in the Room of Requirement. At least, that was what he overheard from Bill. She glanced into his eyes from beside him only to see pure rage.

"What are you doing out of the Room of Requirement?" he hissed, making sure to keep his voice low.

"Harry made me and Tonks leave. He had to use the room for something." Ginny confusedly replied.

Draco cursed. "And you weren't supposed to go back when they were done?"

"What did you want me to do, hang around outside the door when I could be fighting to save my family as well?" she demanded.

He looked away from her eyes – he could see her point. That didn't make him like it any less. She started to talk again, but he clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Cloak yourself." He breathed into her ear, and then watched as she made herself invisible as he followed suit. She held tight onto his hand, not sure why he would stick around with her, but loving the feel of his hand on hers, something solid in a world that could already contain grief for her.

Hurried footsteps – but no visible person – sprinted by, then all was silent. They both released their spells for the moment.

Draco turned to her. "Listen up," he ordered in a deadly voice. "You will_ not_ go back to the fight –" he groaned as he heard the short strides of more feet, the echoing of which proved they were not sneakers, as most Order or students wore, but men's shoes, clicking along at rapid pace along the hallway. They traded glances and slowly slid to a fighting position, wands raised. Ginny wasn't sure why they both stared at her first, but then she realized Draco had Cloaked himself, and then threw herself aside as they simultaneously shot curses at her. Two curses flew at them, but they had protection rings, and the curses only physically blast them into the stone wall instead of incapacitating them. At the last moment before he was hit, one of them shot off a killing spell, and it was aimed right for Ginny. She turned to flee, her red hair whipping around as she moved, but then someone tackled her, hitting her hard from the side. She hit the floor and scraped along for several feet.

"You bloody _idiot_," she heard before the weight on her was lifted and she was pulled to a sitting position, leaning against Draco again. His eyes were full of the need to protect when she looked at him – she didn't know how she knew this – the almost vulnerable look in his eyes? His protective stance? But she felt it was true.

"Here," he said, tearing something off his hand and shoving the ring on her finger. "It's a protection ring, the highest there is. Things like this aren't often made anymore; not enough powerful wizards to make them."

"Why me?" she finally asked, and his blazing liquid silvery eyes met amber ones.

"Because I'll do anything to keep you alive." He whispered, and the words hit something deep within her, her soul, she thought.

And then he was gone. For the rest of the fight – which she paid no attention to his command to return to the ROR – she looked almost desperately for him, but he wasn't there. She ran after him as he hurried off, but he obviously knew she was following and cast a cloaking spell. But she kept going, because she knew she was going back towards the fight, and she had to see her family.

She had been ducking curses for only a few minutes – it seemed – before Voldemort's voice echoed throughout the school.

It was then, when Ginny turned, panting, that she saw him be carried into the Great Hall.

Percy, carrying a red-haired body. The scene suddenly flew into her mind and she Saw it – Percy making a joke, Fred laughing – and then the stone wall crashing in and she watched the life flee from his eyes even as his lips would forever remain in a smile.

She screamed, drawing attention from the entire room, and then straight to where she was looking.

Something hit her hard across the cheek. "Shut up," Draco eloquently yelled at her. It was only then, when she closed her mouth, that she realized she had been screaming continually.

"No…" she moaned, looking at Draco with tears in her eyes.

He bent down to her ear. "You'll be fine. It'll be ok." He told her, knowing that for her, nothing would be ok. He gave her a push towards her family, and she stumbled towards her family, and Hermione reached out and pulled Ginny close, comforting her. She didn't feel any better, couldn't feel anything at all.

Later, she still felt nothing, but was acting mechanically, helping others outside and inside the school. Ginny led a girl across the Great Hall, speaking in a low, comforting voice, speaking soft, sweet words to her to keep her calm. Draco noted how tender she could be, how caring. Ginny had left the girl with a younger girl to tend to her, and their eyes connected. She wasn't ignoring him, he thought in disbelief as she walked over to him. In the distance, he heard the fighting, the shouts, screams, and thunder that meant the battle had fiercely resumed.

"Are you going back out, to fight?" she asked, tilting her head as she spoke.

"I thought you were supposed to go back to the Room of Requirement." He spoke without thinking, harshly told her off.

She gave him a withering glance. "Do you think I could go back, knowing Fred's opponents are out there, free, killing others?" she asked in a low, deadly tone.

He had never heard that tone from her. Unable to speak, he jerked his head towards the doors and they left together. She didn't say another word as she just walked off in another direction, following the sound of Hermione's voice, and she knew Ron would be close behind. He followed, cursing anything that wore dark robes – none of the Hogwarts students had been allowed to wear dark robes out, knowing that the Death Eaters would have them and make it almost indistinguishable to tell the difference, should night fall as it had now.

Ginny didn't know revenge could be this sweet, that fighting like this could cleanse her soul of the injustice of Fred's untimely death. She charged with her group again and again, intent on pain and hurting.

But then the fighting stopped, the Death Eaters withdrew, and she saw Voldemort and his cohorts come out of the forest, with Hagrid lumbering directly behind Voldemort. None of them realized why Hagrid had been given that spot until they saw the tears pouring down his cheeks, or the burden he held.

Draco wondered if he would have to slap her again, but Ginny held it together better this time, screaming "NO." this time instead of incessant sound. It was hard for her to muster emotion when she still felt dead inside. Harry's killing only made her emotionally retreat more inside, someplace Draco couldn't follow to help.

They all followed him in, as Harry was placed on a stone slab, in front of everyone. But then the battle resumed again, and Ginny was deathly tired by this time. Seeing Harry like that had drained the energy out of her, but what else could she do but fight? Draco was on his own, she noted, across the room, fighting whomever came into his line of view.

And then Harry appeared, _alive!_ This time, the tears that poured down her face were happy, for the moment. And then, best of all, it was over, truly over, Voldemort was dead, and she was alive, and Ron, Hermione, and Harry surrounded her, she was with Neville and Luna, hugging everyone until she couldn't breathe anymore.

The thought occurred to her suddenly – Draco, he'd been fighting as hard as she, had he –

She couldn't even bear to finish the sentence, just ran around rejoicing people, searching for the platinum blond hair, the shining beacon. He couldn't, no, not Draco, she kept thinking. She refused to stop searching until she'd found him, or his body. She owed him at least that much for saving her life. She was determined that he would be remembered as a hero.

There was a figure, slumped against the wall in a sitting position. She pushed people aside and sprinted towards him. His hair wasn't blonde, it was brown…

She skidded to her feet, and overwhelming disappointment swallowed her. Then the figure lifted his head, and she saw the familiar point of the chin.

"_DRACO!"_ she was crying and laughing at the same time, and he couldn't understand why – surely, she wasn't that pleased to see him alive?

She fell across his lap and threw her arms around his neck, and he just held her. His eyes connected with Harry's, and then his eyes widened, he didn't mean – but Harry just nodded at Draco and turned away. Ginny pulled back and looked, really stared at Draco. Tears spilled out of her eyes, and he awkwardly, painfully used his left arm to try to wipe them away.

"You're hurt." She said quietly looking at his arm, but immediately drew her eyes back to his face, as if she couldn't look away for fear he would leave while she wasn't looking. "Draco…" she whispered his name, and, clumsily, not the first kiss he had wanted for her, he pulled her shoulder to bring her face close and kissed her. He thought she would pull away, reject him, but she leaned closer, her hand working its way around to the back of her neck.

"We have to get you tended to." She gently told him, then carefully helped him to his feet and across the crowded room. "Make way, make way!"

She supported part of his weight across, and the weight was becoming too much as he got weaker and weaker just as someone else came to her aid and lifted his other side. She couldn't see around Draco, but she got a good look at him as they set Draco down on a hospital bed. Harry had come to help her. She brilliantly smiled at Harry, and Draco growled so low she almost didn't hear it. She stopped beaming, but kept a soft – not romantic, but soft – smile.

"Thanks, Harry." She felt his surprise as she carefully sat beside Draco and he reached for her hand. Harry pulled some strings easily, and soon Draco had a Healer inspecting him. He was back to full strength within minutes, and although the Healer told him to rest for a bit, he fluidly raised to his feet, silently rejoicing in being whole again – and feeling whole. He had felt nothing when they lay his father's body with the other Death Eaters. His mother had died back at the beginning of the war, trying to save Lucius from being dragged in deeper. The only thing he respected for her memory was that she tried to save the man she once loved. Ginny looked at his face anxiously, she had no idea what he was thinking. He smiled cautiously down at her, and she wrapped her arms around him tight.

No one paid any attention to them as they walked out together, and wandered the halls of Hogwarts.

"I thought I'd lost you." She stated.

He brushed the hair out of her face. "But you didn't." he said with an arrogant smile, the one she had seen often. But it was no longer a superior smile, just a cocky and arrogant one. The superior way he had treated her no longer existed between them, but Draco still felt it intruding.

"Ginny… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have teased you like that throughout the year. Although I couldn't help but enjoy your wit, I know I might have pushed you too far."

"Might have?" she exclaimed as she mock-glared at him.

"It would have been hard for my circumstances to treat you any different." He carefully explained. "I knew I wanted to see you almost every day, but how could I unless I was teasing you?"

She studied him with a seriousness he didn't feel as if he deserved. "It's ok, Draco." She whispered. "I might have even enjoyed sharpening my wit on you a little, too." She smirked up at him. An almost seductive smirk, he thought. Then he snorted – he thought almost anything on Ginny was seductive.

She yawned, almost cracking her jaw in the process, and broke the spell. She uneasily glanced around, then clutched Draco's hand so hard his knuckles turned white.

She restlessly shifted her weight before speaking again. "I don't want to go back to my rooms alone. No one else will come up, I know this for a fact, and without company I won't be comfortable."

He took her words in, then wondered if he would be able to sleep beside her all night – well, day, he amended – without putting a more serious hand on her. It was going to test his control, but he thought just maybe he could pull it off.

"Alright." He replied, and let her lead him into the Gryffindor common room and up to her bedroom, and then sat on the bed and waited for his turn while she showered – she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep with blood all over her, and by the time he got back from showering – enjoying the feel of the water, knowing Ginny had just been in here showering – she was nestled in a mass of covers and dead to the world.

Just in case anyone did come in, he magicked the curtains around and warded them closed. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him as his eyes drifted closed.

**a/n: Yay! it's up! and you read it! :) So, you know, leave a review, and i've got the next part - remember, it's only a 2-shot - completely written, and i'm in the final editing-and-polishing stage. Oh, and i'm part of an awesome forum titled Rowan_Greenleaf's D/G forum, so if you're a D/G lover, which i'm assuming you are, feel free to come join us here: http://w w w . f a n f i c t i o n . n e t /forum/rowangreenleafs_DG_Forum/54059/ Also, to those at the Shiny: this is what i envisioned for my challenge prompt when i tried to write something. i just didn't feel like cutting it down on words.  
Next part will be up as soon as i finish up polishing. If you're interested, i have another D/G fic on my homepage, a Christmasy fic, It's Beginning To Look ALot Like Christmas, which was part of the forum Christmas challenge. So i do have other works.  
Hope to see you around for Part 2 of The Start of Everything. **


	2. It's Not the End, More Like a Beginning

**a/n: Ta-duh! Part 2 of The Start of Everything! I think my polishing went well, but go ahead and read :) No, it's not very long. **

_Two Days After The Final Battle:: The Final Ceremony_

Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Great Hall first. They were declared the ultimate heroes, but no one forgot the others right behind them. Neville, Ginny, and Draco accompanied them, and all of them were given awards and medals, and the cheering resonated throughout the Hall. Luna had been offered a place as well, but declined, saying seriously that the Rinshiner Harns were going to be infesting the Great Hall that day, and they loved the center of attention. There had been a moment of complete shock as Draco had entered – holding hands with Ginny – but he had quickly been accepted as one of them, something he had not been expecting. She noted Dennis had moved into Colin's photographer place, and after the pain of never seeing Colin again had receded, she thought maybe she would look him up later for a picture of Draco's stunned face as Harry roughly one-armed embraced him.

Ginny had never been as blissfully happy as she was that moment. Harry accepted Draco – she knew Ron would come around – Hermione at least thought he was intelligent enough for her. It was enough for her. She looked out over the school from the teacher's table and a tear slipped from her eye. She couldn't help it, it was all over, and she was going to have her happily ever after.

* * *

_Epilogue:: 1 year later_

It was a Weasley family dinner. Harry had known from the moment he awkwardly gripped Draco in the Great Hall that Draco would at least be in the Weasley family clan. He'd also known Molly wouldn't turn down an opportunity to mother Ginny's new boyfriend, whether or not he was a Malfoy, because he was an orphan. She'd always mothered him, hadn't she? Harry thought wryly.

He stood by the window, a cup of coffee in his hand, and Hermione joined him. She knew that today especially he would be thinking about the war. Then she looked down and just barely managed to refrain from squealing.

"Harry, look." She said, tugging on his shirt sleeve and pointing down.

Below, in the garden, Draco was sitting beside Ginny, and held a black box out to her. Their eyes met, and it was obvious to Harry and Hermione how much they were in love. Nobody – Harry especially, although from the start he had accepted Draco – had actually thought they'd make it this far, not really – after all, they had based their whole experience on what happened during the final battle. They'd really worked to make their relationship work – spending time discovering likes and dislikes, what they could do together that they would enjoy, and all the other things couples newly in love do. Hermione wistfully but joyously smiled as Draco slipped on the ring, and by the looks of it, it was sentimental heirloom of his, because Ginny's eyes went wide as he clasped her hand, and her mouth moved as she looked at him amazedly. Her expression was dazed and happy beyond belief.

So saving someone's life created a bond that couldn't be erased, Harry supposed. So it wasn't the end, not really. No one would forget the sacrifices made during the war, the children lost, the parents killed. The survivors would never stop thinking about the ones they'd lost. It was more like a start, Harry decided finally.

Maybe it was the beginning, he mused. It was the start of their life in front of them.

So maybe it was the start of everything.

**A/N: So, review, tell me what you think, i'd greatly appreciate it. Also, chances are, if you read and review, and i haven't read your writing before, i'll read yours and review for you. Hopefully, catch you later - i'm currently writing a multi-chaptered HP fic, the first chapter of which i hope to have up soon. Like what you see, put me on alert and i'll have it out before too long. I think i did all my promotion in the 1st chapter, so i'll stop babbling now :) Thanks for reading!**


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